How to handle a "Doomsday Track"

I do have some special requirement for the dice. Namely I would WANT only value 1 to 5 on custom 2d6s. Why? Because it ties in "nicely" with the travel mechanic.

Let me explain.

So each card has 4 Cartesian positions: North, South, West and East.

Then there are 4 combined position: North-West, North-East, South-West, South-East.

The 4 Cartesian positions are on the Location (Game Tiles). And have TRAVEL "Value" (1 to 5). The combined positions allow "diagonal travel" but are an addition of the two Cartesian positions.

Example: South = 3 and East = 2. South-East = 3 + 2 = 5.

The d8 Directional Die, when rolled gives sometimes several options. Like if you roll "NE" (North-East). This means that you can move in 3 different positions: North, East and North-East.

What matters next are the Travel Dice (as in the Example above).

Example: "NE", 2 and 4. This means that "North + 4" or "East + 4" or "North-East + 6" are the three possible travel destinations.

This mechanic allows more "flexibility" when moving Investigators around the city (5 x 5 grid of locations).

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All that to explain WHY(?) I wanted 1 to 5 values on each Custom D6. Values 1 to 5 work real "nicely" with the locations.

The investigators are trying to solve ONE (1) crime in particular. Once enough "clues" have been gathered, the "crime" is revealed to all of the players and then the 2nd Phase of the game begins.

This 2nd Phase (The Manhunt) is an "escalated" version of the 1st Phase. Think something like Pandemic when the break-outs start to be more prominent and players must hurry to make vaccines.

The "Doomsday" Track in the 1st Phase is setting the bar for the 2nd Phase. Meaning, the odds are during most (if not all), the "Doomsday" Track will not trigger the END of the game BEFORE the 2nd Phase.

What it will do is make the 2nd Phase HARDER.

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So to recap, there is one (1) crime trying to be solved, the perpetrator is trying to escape the city and has "12 hours" to flee. Investigators have 12 or less hours to capture the criminal and put him in jail.

Well at some point the game needs to END. I realize that poor (or unlucky) dice rolls could negatively impact the game and its resolution. BUT... while the 1st Phase of the game is gathering clues about the "crime", the 2nd Phase is about "sharing" said information.

Here's the deal... This is not a cooperative game. It's a competitive game so in the 2nd Phase ... while you share information, it comes at a movement price. The player who is asked to reveal a "clue" to EVERYONE, makes the decision of what location is open to reveal the NEXT "clue".

So that's the competitive side. While all Investigators get to see and know the "shared" intelligence... Who is in control of how the information is received is a bit of a tug-of-war. More like coopetition.

While you can BLAME a player for a POOR dice roll. You can also BLAME a player who placed the next clue marker TOO FAR away and requiring too many dice rolls...

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I get your point about feeling angst toward the dice rolls. But the game has to end at some point. So if it's a couple bad rolls... That's what it is. But also some scenarios are stacked AGAINST the "Investigators". For example when there are Gang Members around the city or escaped Convicts from Prison... Or protecting a witness from a hired Hitman.

Sometimes the odds are NOT in your favor and winning is very unlikely.

That's the thing about this game: don't expect to win ALL the time. Some games you just don't have enough time (Doomsday Track), others there are too little patrol cars (Police Tokens) and sometimes you can't protect that eye witness or capture the Accessory to Murder.

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Lastly I wanted to add that Investigator are competing against each other to get their lion-share of clues. The more you collect, the better the odds that you will be the one solving the crime. But there is no guarantee because the opponents might target YOUR pool of clues. Which means that YOU get 0% advancement... That's also the coopetive mechanic which makes that it sucks to be you!

I'm still working on the DESIGN. At this point, I'll take note that some kind of DICE manipulation might be an "option".

Keep you all posted on how this design "evolves"! Cheers.

Either way, which ever way you want the DICE to be chosen to increment the Doomsday Track... As "@let-off studios" suggests, will bring about perhaps some bad "tension" or feelings of betrayal when it comes to some UNLUCKY dice rolls.

And that's what needs to be playtested to see HOW it fares... Is it a bunch of unlucky rolls or maybe just a couple...

I guess some playtesting once the prototype is ready will be in order!

Cheers.